Somebody To You
by Just Being Weird 36
Summary: My name is Saya. His name is Gaara. I'm the family Outcast. He's the village monster. I love him. He probably doesn't know I exist... Life sucks. GaaraxOC, Gaara/OC, GaaOC...ect. Follows the Naruto and Shippuden storyline (mostly).
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own Naruto.**_

* * *

Gaara.

That was his name.

The small, red-headed boy I had always found cute.

I watched from my place on the swing as he came to the playground, and saw him stare as the other brats ran past him with big, blue-green eyes.

I wanted to be his friend. Ever since that day I saw him and his big teddy-bear.

It's weird, because I've had decided to stop trying to make friends long ago. Suna kids were brats. Spoiled, mean, rude little brats. They played with you when they wanted to play with you, teased you when they felt like it, and then they ignored you. And I have enough of being ignored at home.

But Gaara was different.

I may be six years old, and I may be a disappointment, but I had eyes. I could see that much.

And I wanted to be his friend.

"Oh, man! Come on!"

My eyes drifted back to the group of kids as one of them groaned, staring up at the ball stuck on a small fissure of the sandy cliffs.

I couldn't help the tiny smile that pulled at my lips. It might be mean, but they deserve every ounce of bad luck they get, even if it was just losing their ball. They're little sadists, hounding on every one of your abnormalities. There was a time I've actually liked my purple eyes... Now... Well, they had cured me of _that,_ I assure you.

But then... I perked up when small streams of sand rose off the ground, up to the ball and watched, curiously, as they surrounded it, gently floated down, and deposited it in Gaara's small hands. '_Whoah..._'My eyes widened as I stared at the boy. '_That was... Cool!_'

Gaara shyly stepped up to the one who had groaned, and held it out with a small "Here."

I watched subtly, finger wrapping and unwrapping around the chain of the swings as I waited for his reaction. I mean, some of them must have enough manners to invite him to play, at least thank him.

But no. The boy stepped away, horror clouding his face. "You...You're Gaara!"

_'What?' _I looked up, blinking as I registered fear in his voice._ 'So what?' _Confusion tilted my head to a side, than brought my eyebrows together as the other kids started to edge away. Then, abruptly, they all turn and ran, like they were playing tag and Gaara was it. But... why? They were sincerely terrified. Of Gaara.

_'Eh?' _I looked around, baffled, as the fleeing kids disappeared. All around the playground, kids began to nervously move away, running to their mothers or clinging to their friends. In a matter of minutes, the place was empty. '_Eh?!'_

Except for me.

Blinking, I slowly turned back to look at Gaara. He looked so miserable, his hand outstretched, eyes wide and mouth opened. The ball dropped from his hand as his head bowed, his mouth clenching shut and hands fisting before dropping to his sides. Seconds later, a small gust of wind rolled it straight to my feet.

I tore my gaze from him, and stared at it. _'Was this... fate?'_ Glancing once again at Gaara, I slipped off the swing, and hesitantly picked it up, sucking in a deep breath. _'All right, Saya! This is your chance! Go talk to him! Don't be shy!'_

But that was easier thought than done; I couldn't even walk right. I crept up to him, and saw that he had turned away, his head hanging.

"Hello?" No sound left my lips. _'Say it OUT LOUD! He wouldn't have heard that!'_

But he did. He stiffened, and I twitched nervously, eyes immediately dropping down to my hands as his head snapped up to look at me. '_Not good...' _I was so nervous my hands were shaking. Curse my shyness!_ 'Say something!' _My brain screamed._ 'This is your chance, Saya-baka! Don't ruin it! Don't run away! Say something!'_

I slowly held out the ball, and glanced up. More like my eyes flitted up as I blinked. I was the most pathetic of six year olds to be born this century. "Y-your ball... "

Wincing at how lame that sounded, I ducked my head even lower, heat making its way up my face. '_It's not even his ball!'_

But then: "...You're...You're not scared of me?"

I blinked and looked up, surprise over riding my fatal shyness. '_Eh?'_ "O-of course not. Why would I be scared of you?" Then I realized he was staring incredulously at me, and quickly looked down again, blushing hard. "Um... My name is Saya."

"I'm Gaara." He responded after a second.

"O-okay." I bowed, blinking at the ground, clutching the ball to my chest. "Nice to meet you, Gaara."

A tiny, almost non-existent smile was on his lips when I straightened. It made me smile.

That made him smile.

A few seconds later, we were both giggling, even though neither of us said or did anything remotely funny.

And suddenly, a man's voice called out. "Gaara-sama. Time to go home."

I looked up to see a man with long blonde hair and violet eyes, standing a little ways off, wearing what I recognized as a medical uniform. I felt like I've seen him somewhere before. I mean _really _seen him. My super sensory - a gift (although sometimes I felt it was a curse) that I was born with - let me recognize most of the people I've never met, but even so, I felt as though I should know him.

He was staring at us, something like surprise on his face, before he smiled. I of course, blushed and looked away, my eyes landing on Gaara, who looked a bit unsure of what to say.

"I-"

"Do you-?" I began at the same time.

We broke off, and I looked away.

"I have to go."

I nodded. "Okay." '_What else do I say? He won't say no if I ask if I can speak to him again, right?_'"Um... Uh..." _Words. Words. I need words. _"Can I -"

"Will you come again tomorrow?" He asked,stopping me from blurting out whatever I was on the verge of blurting out.

I looked up at him, startled by the question, before nodding rapidly. "I-is it okay if I come talk to Gaara again?"

He nodded, smiling brightly at me. "I'd like that!"

I smiled back. "See you." I waved. He flashed me one last smile before turning and running off. I waited until I lost sight of him before turning around. '_I did it! I made a new friend!_'

I smiled at the ball in my hands before dropping it, watching it roll away before tilting my head back to look at the sky. It was getting dark. I should go home before either of them notices I was gone.

I was happy whilst walking home, wondering what time I should sneak out of my studies to go to the playground, and what I was going to say and how I was going to act tomorrow.

In the end, it didn't matter.

Because the next day, my training began.

..::*::..

* * *

_**Thank you so much for bothering to read this! I really appreciate it!**_

_**This is the newly edited chapter one I've posted after my great disappearance for almost an year. I hope it's better than my original chapter one.**_

_**Thanks for putting up with me and my empty promises. I'm really sorry: I'm easily distracted and I've somehow got over my obsession with Naruto over the course of the year and started on One Piece and Kyoukai no Kanata, but I really DO want to finish this fic, and I'm gonna try my best. **_

_**Cheers, guys!**_

**\- JBW360 :3**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **_**:3**

..::*::..

"High left! Right! Lower left! Faster! Lower right! Left! _Block_, girl! Lower right!" A blow landed solidly on my side, and I was thrown across the training grounds.

Somebody should seriously tell my father that 'training' a kid like a fully grown man was seriously cruel. Not that he'd listen, but still, he might let up, just a tiny bit. And for the record, my father's 'training', would be better off described as 'Accumulation for Permanent Brain Injury' or 'Being Burnt to a Crisp on Daily Basis'. He didn't hold back. For the past two weeks, he had me awake at the crack of dawn, performing chakra control exercises, until past sunset, training me in taijutsu.

Today was our 14th day, and so far, all I've learned is to absorb punches like a pro. Breathing hard, I pulled myself up and stepped into a fighting stance.

"...Useless. This is useless. I've seen 3-year-olds who are better at taijutsu!" Well, father, there's only a small difference between 3 and 6, you know. But I didn't dare say that. The expression on his face was terrifying.

"Forgive me, father. I'll try harder-"

"Enough!" I cringed at the loudness of his voice, and hastily lowered my head. "How many times have you said that? You haven't been able to land a single blow yet, have you? You...Useless."

I bowed. "Forgive me."

He turned away, and when he spoke, his voice was as cold as ice. "Your training is abolished. There is no use wasting my time on you anymore." I flinched. "You're dismissed."

I bowed again as he limped away, and grimaced at his retreating back. Shouldn't I be feeling sadder that my own father had called me a waste of time?

Father used to be a hero. One of the very rare scorch-style user of the Sand. The family's pride, a village leader. But years before I was born, something happened. A huge accident. Father was injured for life. Even now, almost a decade later, he still uses crutches (And trust me when I say, he knows how to use them. They _hurt._)

I guess he was hoping for a child to restore his honor. A son, preferably. A _boy_, just like him. One that would master the shukaton at the age of nine, like him, one that would show the village the awesomeness of the family bloodline, like him, and probably not break all the bones in his legs during the height of his fame, _unlike_ him. And Mother, devoted mother, only wanted what Father wanted.

Me...I'm not a boy. I'm Saya. A small, quite _girl_ who can't throw a shuriken straight, much less perform a shukaton justu. No matter I can sense half the people in the village without trying. No matter I can see with my eyes closed. What use is _sensory_? What use is a girl who can't continue the family legacy?

So I gave up. No more tries to win their love. Win their attention. It was too tiresome, and way too hard.

They ignored me, and I returned the favor.

But Father finally snapped. He wasn't going to let his Kekkei genkai end. I had the blood limit in me, just not the capacity to perform it. So I was going to train. And for two weeks, I did. Now, as my father put it so kindly, it was a waste of time.

I didn't follow after him when he left. Instead, I headed in the opposite direction, trying to get away from him as physically possible without leaving the village. Mother would probably chew me out when I went back to the house; I wasn't supposed to upset father, or stay out after it got dark. But it was just a little past sunset. The lights weren't even turned on. I could get home before dinner time, for sure.

Oh, whatever! I was finally free. There was something I want to do. Or more specifically, someone I had to find. Hopefully Gaara stayed out a little late. I didn't want to go looking for his house.

It took me a few minutes to pinpoint his chakra out of the villagers, and some time to get to him. When I finally landed on the rooftop he was sitting on, it was really dark. _Mother's going to kill me._

"Gaara-sama!" He turned, his eyes widening as he saw me. I bowed. "Hello!"

He stared.

"Um...My name is Saya, remember?"

He blinked, and I noticed his teddy bear, dangling from the crook of his arm. We stared at each other. I waited, thinking he'd to say something. He didn't. _Ok..._

_Wait. Maybe...Maybe he's angry! I lied to him, didn't I?! Oh no!_ Suddenly scared, I bowed. "I'm sorry. I was...My father...I'm sorry." I glanced up.

He was just staring at me, eyes wide, confused. "Why?"

"I had training, and I wasn't able to get away, right? So I couldn't come to the playground, right? I hope you're not mad..." I bit my tongue to stop another 'right?' from coming out. Another one of my weird traits: making sentences into questions when I'm nervous.

"...no."

I grinned and joined him by the railing. "What are you doing?"

He hesitated, than shrugged.

I nodded, not sure what else to do, than- "Ne, do you like the stars?"

He looked at me, confused again. Not that I can blame him. It was a random question. What can I say? I'm a curious and impulsive child.

I tilted my head back and pointed. "That one. That's the North star." Shifting my head to look at him. "Do you know the story?"

He shook his head. "No."

I plopped down next to him, letting my legs dangle over the side like his.

"I read it in a book. It was huge, but I really liked it! There was a story about the North star, and it's about how a man lost his soul. Have you heard it?" **(1)**

"No."

Before I could ask if he wanted to hear it-and I was going tell him whether he wanted to listen or not- he pointed at my cheek. "Blood."

I blinked, than brushed a hand across my face. There was a small trace of red on my fingers when I examined them. "Oh.." I blushed darkly. "I was training a bit before. I must have...Thank you."

I fell silent, my confidence and cheeriness gone. _What was that, Saya-baka?! Showing up with blood on your face?! Ohhh, he probably thinks you're a creep!_ Tears started to prick my eyes and my lip started to tremble. _Wha-?! Pathetic! Don't cry! Don't cry!_

"That story," I jumped, and stared owlishly at Gaara as he turned and smiled. "Can you tell me?"

It took me a second to comprehend his words, along with his smile, but when I did, I smiled a huge, tremulous smile. "Sure!"

.,.,.,.,.,.,.

That night, when I got home, Mother was very, very mad. She gave me a scalding lecture, and threatened to punish me if I stayed out too late again, but I only felt a little sheepish. I had made my first friend! Nothing, not even my mother's reprimands, or my father's cold snubbing brought me down.

Because I was happy.

Because I wasn't alone.

Because I made a friend.

..::*::..

_**Well, that was lame! And long!**_

_**Anyways...Thank you SOOOO much for following and favorite-ing and reviewing! I love love LOVE you!**_

_**(1) I'm making this up. I don't know anything about stars. I'm not even sure if there's a North star, (if there is one, forget I said that, OK?) and the story about the man and his soul: I don't know. My brain is a peanut. It works in weird ways.**_

_**Hope it's not too weird and that it didn't sound too bitter at first. If it is: SORRY!**_

_** ***JBW360/**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. :3**_

..::*::..

_BOOM!_

I almost fell off the roof.

Not that you can blame me. Huge explosions in the middle of the night would scare anyone, especially little disobedient girls standing, like, two roofs away.

Almost a week has passed since Father's blow-up, and these days, I consider it my one and only purpose in life to stay as far away from my parents as possible. Unsurprisingly, Father just treats me as though I was a piece of furniture whenever he passed me, whereas Mother had dropped almost all of her scary strictness, only giving me reprimanding glares whenever I did something wrong. But I'm not sure what she'd do if she found out I had snuck out of my bedroom.

I had sensed Gaara's chakra nearby, and even though it was past dinner-time, I climbed out of my bedroom window and onto the roof. So far, I hadn't fallen off and broke my neck.

Than some bright person started to blow stuff up.

The force of the explosion blew me back, and, on my hands and knees, I clutched to the roof for dear life. I blinked away the sand from my eyes, and watched as the fireball dispersed into a huge cloud of smoke.

_Wait. Isn't that-? _I scrambled up, my eyes widening, a sinking feeling in my chest. That was the roof where I had sensed Gaara's chakra. The roof he usually watched the moon from. There was no way that anybody would have survived an explosion at such a close range. I clumsily edged forwards on my roof, cursing the fact that balance had never been my strong point. _Please, please, please. _

Than I heard it. A soft, high-pitched sobbing. I was torn between releif and concerned; glad that Gaara was alive, and worried at how heart-broken those sobs sounded.

What happened up there? Was that explosion supposed to kill Gaara?! Just as I clumsily jumped on to the next roof, a scream split the night. A high-pitched, ear-splitting scream. I almost fell off, sliding halfway down the roof before I managed to steady myself. Pulling myself up, I slowly looked up towards the source. Above me, streams of sand were flying. Gaara.

I was trembling, and my eyes were tearing up. What had happened to Gaara? Was he hurt? Is that why he was making a sound like that?

I unfroze and made myself move forwards. I didn't get too far. The scream stopped after I took a few steps, and a creepy silence followed.

I flattered to a stop. Something was wrong, and it took me a second to figure out what it was. Gaara's chakra. The soft, eager flame that had made me want to hug him when I first saw him, was different. Now, it was cold. So, so cold, with spikes and claws and a bloodthirsty aura to boot. And it was growing bigger and bigger, very, very fast.

And this time, I felt like Gaara was the bomb, and if any more of that chakra was given to him, he'd explode.

And he did.

Huge jets of sand flew up and formed up around the roof Gaara was on, and I was blown back-almost off the roof. I screamed as I was blown up, thrown into the sky before landing roughly on a neighboring roof, rolling to a stop. A really high-pitched voice was roaring. Trembling all over, I peeled my cheek off the roof, and looked up. My jaw didn't exactly hit the floor, but it was close.

On the roof where Gaara was supposed to be was a huge monster made entirely of sand, taller than the building itself, and almost as thick. It threw its head back and gave another high-pitched, laughing roar.

I cried out and scrambled up. _Ok,ok. There's huge, sand monster in front of me. What do I do now?! _A long spikey tail swung over me, than back again, hitting my side and throwing me off the roof. I screamed again as the ground zoomed up to meet me. I was going to end up a bloody splatter on the street at the rate I was going.

But I didn't want to die! I was only six! I had so many plans for life! No, no, no, _no_!

An arm closed around my form before I could hit the ground. My vision went black. When I could see again, I was lying on my side, staring at somebody's feet. I could still hear the screams of the monster, and huge crashing sounds: probably buildings being destroyed. I shakily rolled over and got to my hands and knees, than stared up at the man who saved me. He was calm, which is pretty impressive, considering the sand monster he was staring at made me feel like crawling into a hole and hiding for the rest of my life.

Because it was dark, all I could see was that he was wearing the same robes my father wore when he was doing his job as a councilor, and that he had spikey hair. I stared hard at his face, and saw the shadows shift as if he was narrowing his eyes. "Yashamaru failed..." He murmured. It was almost as if he was disappointed. Not worried, or scared, just dissapointed. "He's lost control."

_What? Who? Yashamaru? _Why does that name sound so familiar? The man suddenly looked at me-and I almost choked. This man, the person who saved me from a very painful and short future as a Saya-pancake, was the Fourth Kazekage. Gaara's father! I scrambled to my feet and bowed. "K-k-kazekage-sama!"

"Find your parents and get out of the village." He ordered. "Now."

I nodded, and bowed again. Than I turned and ran, not even glancing back once.

Not even remembering Gaara.

Me? A friend? Yeah, right.

..::*::..

_**'Tis the season for procrastinating**_

_**Falalalala lalalala!**_

_**Yeah...that stinks. **_

_**Sorry for being so late in updating. But it's CHRISTMAS, dude! Which reminds me. Merry Christmas (I know I'm late!) and hope you have a happy new year! **_

_**Oh, and thankyouthankyouthankyou to all those who reviewed, favorited (Is that a word?), and followed! I would hug you, but I don't know you. Or what you look like. Or what you would do to a stranger who hugs you. **_

_**So I won't! :3**_

_*****JBW360/**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer ('cause this is so FUN!): I don't own Naruto.**_

..::*::..

Curiosity kills the cat.

I'm starting to think it'll kill me too.

Neither mother nor father had any idea about my sneaking out, and somehow, that only occurred to me when my irritated mother opened the front door to let me in. Who knew showing up bruised and covered in sand in the middle of the night was a great way to gain some attention. Mother was speechless-not that she had much to say to me in the first place- and even father's eyes widened. But I have to admit it; I probably looked worse than I did after one of father's training sessions.

So...

"I...I f-fell out the w-window." I stuttered softly. Ok, lame excuse. But I couldn't think of anything better.

"..." Mother and father stared.

"I'm s-sorry." I whispered, eyes dropping swiftly to the floor.

More silence.

"G-good night." I said, a little louder, pretending not to notice that both my voice and myself were still trembling. I bowed, and hurried out of the room, catching the startled look mother shot at father before I did.

I scrambled up the stairs, washed the sand off me, bandaged the worst of the cuts, and put on a new pair of clothes as quickly as I could. When I returned to my room though, I thought that I'd took a wrong turn.

Mother was there.

No way. I thought, and stepping out, glanced down the hall. Third door from the stairs. Then I turned and glanced at the window on the opposite end of the hall. Same scenery. Why...?

I stared at the door before quietly pushing it open. She had her back to me, flipping through the book I had finished reading before I went out looking for Gaara. A book about stars.

A perfect excuse to why I had fallen out the window bloomed in my mind. I had been trying to stargaze, and fell out because I had tried to see the stars better. But all that fled from my mind when she turned around and met my eyes.

She threw down the book back on the bed, her face freezing into a mask. "Fell out the window?"

Straight to the point. I swallowed. "Yes, Ka-sama." She's angry, and she's talking to me. That's not good.

"Don't lie." She snapped. "Falling from a second story window wouldn't do so much damage." She gestured at the cuts and bruises on my skin; The imprint the Sand monsters tail had left on me.

"...I'm sorry. I won't do it again." I replied, not telling her the truth, nor telling her another lie.

I felt her eyes on my bowed head for a moment longer, and waited for a dreaded question. But all she did was sigh. I waited for her to say something else, but instead, she started towards me. My throat closed up, and an emotion I couldn't place bloomed in my chest, immediately crushed as she swept past me and reached for the door.

"See to it that you don't. Go to sleep." She ordered.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "G-good night."

She nodded.

"Ka-sama." I blurted out as she opened the door, not sure what I was going to do.

She turned. "What is it?"

"What ...What was the monster that attacked the village tonight?" Oh, wonderful. I just practically told her where I'd gotten beat up. But the moment I said it, though, I realized how much that question had been bothering me. I wanted to know what it was, why it attacked the village, and how it was connected to Gaara.

Mother's stiffened, and turned to face me. Plucking up my courage, I asked the question that had been bothering me the most. "What's wrong with Ga-The Kazekage's son?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Gaara? He's dangerous. The monster of the sand, Shukaku, is sealed in him. I've heard that it keeps him awake." She paused, probably noticing the stiffness that took over my form, and continued. "He...he's like a double edged sword. He is the village's greatest weapon, and also its closest enemy. Stay away from him. I forbid such an acquaintance." She eyed me again, gauging my reaction, than clipped out a sharp "Good night."

I bowed when she swept out and shut the door behind her, and stared blankly at the wall. Everything fell in to place. The fear the other kids had for Gaara. The way he's always out so late. And that might just be the reason this Shukaku appeared right on top of him.

Gaara was a monster.

No. He had a monster sealed inside him. A monster he couldn't control. A monster that made Gaara hurt people, and made people hurt Gaara. I lightly traced the ugly bruise running up my arm, and came to a decision.

Gaara didn't hurt me-at least he didn't mean to. So I wasn't going to hurt him. I'll be his friend for as long as he needed me.

..::*::..

_**I'm really sorry for being SOO late in updating. Writing an extra looooooooooong chapter five to make up for it. I'm not going to make any excuses, I'm a total slob. So soooooorrrrryyyyy! **_

_**Thank you to all those who have read and followed and favorite-ed.**_

_**I would really appreciate some reviews. Criticism requested. :3**_

_*****JBW360/**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I don't own Naruto. Just my OC. :3**_

..::*::..

I never learn.

The little stunt I pulled last night should have been enough for me to back off and become the quite, good little girl I should be, considering how much I got beaten up. But, no. I just had to snoop around.

The first thing I did the next morning was go back to that building. Or at least what used to be a building; what I found was a small mountain of rubble.

I knew I shouldn't be there. Actually, I'm pretty sure my mother would have my hide if she knew I was skipping out on my lessons, but I was curious for even a small clue as to what happened last night. I wanted to know why Gaara had suddenly lost control. During the time I spent with him-short as it may be-I've never seen him go mega-monster. Maybe you had to snap your fingers or say a magic word or something.

There was sand everywhere, glittering brightly when the sun rays hit. When I crouched down to examine it, I saw that there was something mixed in with the grains..._Gold?_ I straightened up, frowning at the grains as they slipped through my fingers. I knew that the Kazekage had the ability to manipulate gold dust. So that meant he had been the one who had stopped Gaara. I remembered how quickly he had gotten to Gaara. Only seconds after he transformed.

I didn't know what to think about that.

Does that mean the Kazekage had followed Gaara? Did it mean he had known Gaara would lose control? Was he concerned about his son...or...?

"_Yashamaru failed_." He had said. "_He's lost control._"

The 'He' who had lost control was obviously Gaara. It was the disappointment that showed so clearly even in the dark made me rack my brain, trying to remember who this 'Yashamaru' was. My first memory was Gaara saying something about him once, and that itself was enough proof that this person was important to him. The second was of the medical ninja that had come to fetch him home, that day, almost a month ago. _Yashamaru is his uncle! _

So does that mean that...Yashamaru was supposed to make sure that Gaara never lost control?

Oh, man. These questions are enough to give a six-year-old a headache.

..::*::..

The headache was the least of my problems now. Somehow, during that night and the next morning, everything had changed.

Gaara was different. Very, very different.

The murderous chakra hadn't disappeared. It was wrapped around him like a freezing cloud, masking the pattern I had gotten used to over the past few weeks. In fact, I had a hard time finding him because of it. It's like the old Gaara had completely disappeared.

And I missed my friend.

The one without the cold chakra and cold expressions. Without the red scar on his forehead and a menacing look in his eyes. Yeah...that Gaara kind of creeped me out.

I watched him for a while, trailing behind my mother as she swept down the road, trying to think of a way to get away while working up the courage to go talk to him. Again.

The first time I had tried to talk to him, about a few days ago, he had glanced at me like he'd never seen me before, than completely ignored me. That hurt. I thought that I'd had finally become his friend, and that he would trust me enough to tell me what was bothering him. But I had decided that I wasn't going to give upon him. Especially...not now, since...

Yashamaru was dead.

I had heard my Father speak to my mother about the Kazekage's bother-in-law passing away, and there had been a twisting feeling in my stomach as I thought about Gaara. I remember how he talked about his uncle, and how he took care of him. There had been a thawed expression in his eyes when he had looked at Gaara that dayin the park.

I glanced down at the almost invisible bruise on my arm, than back at the small redhead as he parted the crowd, people shying away from him as though he was a monster. I had promised to myself, hadn't I, that I was going to look out for him? To be his friend as long as he needed me to be?

My fists clenched as I stared at his back, and I glanced at my mother as she drifted further and further away, not looking back to see if I was following, not even once. I felt my lips curve up in a mischievous smile. Sometimes, being ignored had a lot of upsides.

I turned, then paused, took a step, and stopped again. Should I really going to do this? Go and talk to Gaara- something mother had forbidden me from doing-just as she's standing halfway down the street? I looked at the tall figure of my mother, her dark hair just barely visible through the small group of people between us, and then at the lone little boy with a teddy bear clutched at the crook of his arm, moving further and further away.

Feeling extremely guilty, I gave the back of Mother's head an apologetic glance, took a deep breath, and started down the street. "G-Gaara-sama?" I called as soon as I reached him.

He froze. I jogged to a stop a short distance behind him. Leaning to a side in hopes of seeing his face-knowing his mood might just change the outcome of this situation-and called out a tentative "Hello?"

Silence. Ok... "Um...It's me again."

His head slowly turned, and I gulped as his cold eyes trained on me. When did he change so much? I bowed in greeting, and glanced up at his back nervously. "A-are you busy? I wanted to say-" I broke off and took an involuntary step back as he suddenly turned around. The expression in his eyes scared me. Well, not expression. More like lack of expression.

"Shut up, or I'll kill you."

My eyes widened and swiftly dropped to the floor. Fists clenching around the hem of my short, lavender dress, I bowed again. I had no doubt whatsoever that he could carry out his threat. I've seen the way the sand responded to his commands whether he meant to give them or not, and I also knew that his chakra reserve was abnormally large. I just couldn't believe that he would. Does he really hate me that much?

"I-I'm s-s-s-sorry. I didn't mean to-to-" I tried to form a coherent sentence. I had wanted to talk to him, but since he very blatantly stated he didn't want to, I should just say what I wanted to say and leave. My heart gave a painful twinge at the thought of losing my friend. "It's j-just-I-I heard about your uncle, and I wanted to say I'm really sorry-"

A small flash of chakra. I stumbled back, tripping over my own feet as a small wave of sand crashed down on the spot I was standing seconds ago. I scrambled back, hands and heels pushing desperately at the ground to get me away from the threat. _He just- Did he really-?_ Feeling the start of tremors running through my body, I stared up with large eyes, tears slipping out of the corners. Gaara stood there, eyes blank, looking almost bored.

The sand reared up like a snake, ready to strike again, and all I could do was stare at its controller. My body wanted to run and scream, but even as my feet kicked against the ground, I knew it was too late. My mind was screaming at me to defend myself, to hate this person ready to kill me...but ... I couldn't.

Another flash of chakra, and my body finally responded. An arm raised up to cover my face, and eyes squeezed shut, my mouth opened in a scream that came out as a strangled gasp.

"Saya!" Mother?!

The sand abruptly stopped. I let my arms drop, squinting my eyes open, and let the tears building in my chest loose. I choked on my sobs as a hand wrapped viciously around my wrist, yanked me up and dragged me down the street.

"Hurry up!" She hissed, straightening me as I tripped. "What were you thinking?! I told you not to speak to him!"

All I could do was sob her name and latch on to the vice-like hand around my arm. The next thing I know is that we're home. Mother led me up the stairs, down the hall and into my room. She released her grip, and I stumbled to a stop in front of my bed.

She stepped away and stood in front of me, hands on her hips, thunderous expression on her face. I wiped my face with my hands, hiccupping, and stared up at her through the black hair that had escaped my side ponytail. She didn't soften. She never did. A low "Explain." was forced out from her clenched teeth.

I sniffled and sure that I had wiped the last residue of tears from my face, bowed. "Forgive me, Ka-sama."

"That isn't an explanation." She gritted out. I hung my head, and she made a small noise of irritation. "I told you, did I not, that you are not supposed to talk to that boy? I have told you that he was dangerous? Now do you see why?!"

"Y-yes, Ka-sama."

"Will you do it again?"

I couldn't answer. Could I really avoid Gaara? Ostracize him like everyone else?

"Saya." Mother began dangerously. I knew she was furious when she addressed me so directly. She pronounced every word slowly and clearly. "Will you do it again?"

I vigorously shook my head. She leaned back, scowl on her face. "The next time you do, if you survive, your father and I will have to punish you very severely. Do you understand?"

I nodded, and wiped at my face again. My eyes itched. "Yes, Ka-sama."

"Our family has a honor we must protect. Do not disgrace you Father, or me." I heard an 'any more' somewhere in there. Suddenly she was walking away. "Get cleaned up."

I bowed as the door clicked shut, and started to cry again. Not because of my stinging hands, but because of my stinging heart.

..::*::..

_**Oops.**_

_**I'm late.**_

_**I know.**_

_**I'm sorry.**_

_**But this time, I have a very reasonable excuse. My Baby crashed! I freaked out big time when my lap wouldn't turn on and raged at my brothers for like three hours before my dad took a look at it. It was a problem with the battery. Hahahaha...**_

_**So, ultimately, I have learned that when your computer crashes, you should really check the battery first, and that even though you have three brothers, you shouldn't blame them for every little thing. Just the really/somewhat/not really big things. ;3**_

_**Thanks to all those who have given my story, and even ME a favorite or follow, and I'm really, REALLY grateful for your reviews. Can you please leave me more?**_

_**And to add to this really long excuse/author's note, I hope this chapter isn't disappointing. I know it isn't the 'extra looooooooooong chapter' I had promised, and I apologize. I had originally planned on updating a -1k words chapter every week, but since that isn't going to happen, I'll try my best for at least a 2k words chapter twice or three times a month. Please bear with me.**_

_**See you in a week or two! **_

_*****JBW360/**_

_**P.S: This is a really long A/N and I'm prolonging it because of my stupid fangirling, but have you people watched the shippuden episode 399?**_

_**Cuz I think that Gaara using taijutsu is hot. Like really, really, really, really hot! I could just watch that scene over and over and over and over again and never get tired of it and-I'll shut up now. Byee!**_


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